I checked both iPhone 12 and 12 Mini. Not 12 Pro.
Did you test iPhone 12 in official Apple Store, or in another shop?
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Other Eye-strain while using iPhone X and up
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Did you test iPhone 12 in official Apple Store, or in another shop?
Yes, very similar values of pulsations. So I think that 12 Pro may give the same results.
For some reason, these standards are set only for non-production and work premises, for residential premises only the necessary illumination parameters are indicated. Therefore, if the iPhone were a device for work, then during the labor inspection it might really fail the test. But for consumer devices, it seems that these rules are not strict to enforce. And it is possible that they are used only as guidelines, and not as requirements.
For lighting, the specified limits are 10-20%. I measured different devices in the house - some TVs also flicker very strongly (70% and more), some bulbs flicker from 10% to 30%, in the lighting in large stores flicker more than 10% is also common. May be the flickering of bulbs is a little easier to endure, since we do not look directly at the light source, as is the case with phones, but we look at the reflected light from objects in the environment, but I still noticed that in some rooms the lighting brings the similar typical discomfort as PWM mobile phones.
Yes, my opinion is that if you need to get a significantly low visible brightness of the screen, then it is better to set the brightness as high as possible, and adjust it by reducing the white point. This recommendation applies to the 12 Mini and 12 Pro Max, as well as previous OLED iPhones, and probably to a lesser extent to the regular 12 and 12 Pro, because their pulsation coefficient is more stable at different brightness levels.
But it is also possible that all this is individual, and it is better for everyone to try to find their own compromise option.
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I measured all models - 12, 12 Pro, 12 Mini, 12 Pro Max in one official Apple store and also 12 Pro in another store to check if there is a difference between two devices of the same model, there was no difference, the results were very similar.
There is a difference between regular 12 and 12 Pro, but not very significant (less 1%).
It seems that I will have to repeat the measurements in some third store, as it very confuses that your results with regular 12 are very different.
Regrettably iPhone 12 screen flickers. I visited a local shop to check iPhone 12 and 12 Mini. I have Radex Lupin tool which can detect flickering of OLED screens and LED lights.
My measurements:
100% - 5% of pulsations.
50% - 8%
25% - 86%
5% - 29%
At 25% of brightness level I can see a terrible flickering like in all previous iPhones with OLED screens.
I saw another topic on Macrumors where user discovered that special iPhone 12 demonstrated in Apple Store have no flickering, because it's low brightness level was high (very bright), it masks the problem:
iPhone 12 is flicker free(DC dimming)!
I went to the Apple store and test the PWM flicker of iPhone 12/Pro simply with camera. No flicker is detected at all brightness level on both 12 and 12 pro. But it’s very weird that the minimum brightness of 12 is much higher than 11/11 pro. It seems that Apple limited the minimum brightness of...forums.macrumors.com
Did you measure both 12 mini and 12 and were these the results for the both phones? Did you have a chance to get measurements for 12 pro and 12 pro max?
Sad news for me...I had a mild headache on Saturday after using the 12 Pro Max Friday evening but I'd had a tough week of work and slept in late so figured it was this.
Had some mild eye strain on Sunday and the 12 Pro Max made my eyes water a little when I started using it when I woke up. So I only used the iphone 12 and continued to have some mild discomfort on the edges of my eyes.
Today after switching between the iphone 12 and 12 Pro Max and my eyes are throbbing and I've got a bad headache.
In a last ditch effort I've ordered a Mini but don't hold out much hope. I've got to go to the Apple store to return at least one of these phones so figured I go in on all three models. Suspect it's a total bust and I'm very disappointed. This is the year I'm definitely retiring my 7 Plus so I'll be left with SE or refurbished 8 Plus as my only routes and, after using an edge to edge display I'm a little crushed. 😡😭
Had some mild eye strain on Sunday and the 12 Pro Max made my eyes water a little when I started using it when I woke up. So I only used the iphone 12 and continued to have some mild discomfort on the edges of my eyes.
Today after switching between the iphone 12 and 12 Pro Max and my eyes are throbbing and I've got a bad headache.
In a last ditch effort I've ordered a Mini but don't hold out much hope. I've got to go to the Apple store to return at least one of these phones so figured I go in on all three models. Suspect it's a total bust and I'm very disappointed. This is the year I'm definitely retiring my 7 Plus so I'll be left with SE or refurbished 8 Plus as my only routes and, after using an edge to edge display I'm a little crushed. 😡😭
So sorry to hear that. It seems everyone has a bit different results with each model- so it is possible the Mini may work out for you.
If not, besides the SE or refurbished 8Plus, have you considered a regular 11? That of course does not have OLED- it has an LCD screen just like the SE and the 8Plus.
It's what I have, that I bought last year and likely will fall back on if I do decide that my Mini is going to be problematic after another week or two of use.
Sorry to hear that
I’m in the same boat, but I find it very encouraging that the 12 is markedly better than previous phones in terms of flickering. Hoping next years are useable for us!
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I know the pain all too well. The good thing is that you have realized the phones you have won’t work. Too many people try to “get used to it”. In all my research, I haven’t come across even one case where someone had pwm headaches or eye stain, and was able to “get used to it”. Once you have the eye pain or headaches, that’s all there is to it. It’s a shame that we’re pretty much left in the cold, but the main thing is to admit the phones won’t work and just move on. I rarely browse this forum anymore, except for when the new phones come out. Inevitably they are still not compatible with my eyes. I haven’t bought one, but I have read enough on here from people in the same boat as I am to know it would just be a waste of my time. If my 8+ broke, it would be a bitter pill to swallow to buy another one. Let’s all hold out hope that the rumored se 2 plus next year will be what we’re waiting for. Backup plan would be an se 2020 with an apple smart battery case.
It’s a crazy thing to know we have $1200+ in hand ready to buy a phone, and there are none compatible for us.
Yes indeed! Keep in mind the 11 is a good option now too for those who are PWM sensitive- at least it is just last year's phone and has an LCD screen with no PWM.
But great point- I would LOVE if Apple just stuck with the LCD displays.... I got the Mini and am still trying to see if it is going to work for me or not. No real headaches, but eye weirdness with dryness and feeling warm when using the phone.
I love the phone- the new squared edges, the smaller size, it is fantastic. But as I look at the display, I wonder why OLED is considered so great- sure it looks good, but so does the LCD on my 11. I honestly do not really see much difference. The 11 has great contrast, great rich colors, blacks look pretty darned black- so to me, I wish they would just play it safe and stick with LCD on these.
I know I am in the minority here, but those were my thoughts...
I’m one of the unlucky few who even get a headache from the 11 lcd. 8+ is perfect, so I am at a loss.
Yep, 11 also gave me some discomfort plus I didn't like it overall so I gave my iphone 7 plus it's second replacement battery which after just less than a year is already at 86% health. Held out as long as I could and for a few hours thought I was all in iphone 12. I'm double annoyed as I've been waiting to see if I can stick with Apple and needed this phone, then I was going to get an Apple watch 6 SS had either an ipad pro or Macbook Pro. Can I bring myself to hold out for SE Plus.....
Might want to try an se 2020 with a battery case? That’s my plan if this 8+ breaks before the se plus comes out
Did you see this post on Macrumors?
iPhone 12 is flicker free(DC dimming)!
I went to the Apple store and test the PWM flicker of iPhone 12/Pro simply with camera. No flicker is detected at all brightness level on both 12 and 12 pro. But it’s very weird that the minimum brightness of 12 is much higher than 11/11 pro. It seems that Apple limited the minimum brightness of...
forums.macrumors.com
I attach a photo from that discussion. Here are demo iPhone 12 "Not for sale" from App Store and usual iPhone 11 from owner. For both iPhones is set 0% brightness. Do you see very hight "zero" brightness on iPhone 12 on left side? Of course, iPhone 12 doesn't show high pulsations in this special mode.
In fact, Apple used DC Dimming for demo iPhone 12 in the App Store. It's dishonest, because you may think that it doesn't flicker. So you need to check a real iPhone 12 from owners or from another independed shop. And compare zero brightness with your own iPhone to make sure that it doesn't use any tricks with brightness.
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It makes zero sense why they would have DC dimming on demo units and not production. If they were able to do this I would at least expect to see it on Pro models.Did you see this post on Macrumors?
iPhone 12 is flicker free(DC dimming)!
I went to the Apple store and test the PWM flicker of iPhone 12/Pro simply with camera. No flicker is detected at all brightness level on both 12 and 12 pro. But it’s very weird that the minimum brightness of 12 is much higher than 11/11 pro. It seems that Apple limited the minimum brightness of...
I attach a photo from that discussion. Here are demo iPhone 12 "Not for sale" from App Store and usual iPhone 11 from owner. For both iPhones is set 0% brightness. Do you see very hight "zero" brightness on iPhone 12 on left side? Of course, iPhone 12 doesn't show high pulsations in this special mode.
In fact, Apple used DC Dimming for demo iPhone 12 in the App Store. It's dishonest, because you may think that it doesn't flicker. So you need to check a real iPhone 12 from owners or from another independed shop. And compare zero brightness with your own iPhone to make sure that it doesn't use any tricks with brightness.
Check the photo above. Special iPhone 12 in App Store has very high minimum brightness. This iPhone cannot be used in real life.
It doesn’t make sense why this iPhone would even exist in a demo capacity unless Apple intends to make a production version. I’d take an iPhone with a high minimum brightness that doesn’t have PWM.
Maybe there’s a setting in Accessibility? Somebody should take a closer look at that phone.
Maybe they have other OLED Panels in the Demo Units, in the Thread the Poster wrote, that only some of the Demo iPhones had a flicker free Panel. I could imagine because this, because it is usual not only in the phone business.
These iPhones have special store firmware that limits minimum brightness to 25% or so, because stores are brightly lit and a phone with dark screen would look like a defective unit. They also have some apps and data pre-installed.
If there’s no really no flickering on this software then they should release it as an option in iOS. I assume there are no hardware differences on the demo unit.
How convenient 🤷🏼♂️ I’ve observed most flickering below that brightness level on my Mini.
Yeah, I was just going to say the same thing! I have settled on 50% brightness with reduce white point at 80% on my Mini to keep it from being so bright it burns my eyeballs.... that SEEMS to have mitigated most eye discomfort/strain from the flicker- but the jury is still out on whether it will be OK for me or not.
To me, if they cannot do something about the flicker in these OLED panels, I would rather they just put LCD panels in these new phones- Apple LCD's to me look great, and even if I am not getting eye strain, I do not like the idea that I/we are looking at a strobe light every time using the phone- just wondering what other effects that may cause that are not immediately apparent vs a safe, flicker-free LCD panel.